What is the Alabuga Start Programme
The Alabuga Start Programme is an initiative launched by Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone in 2022. It targets mainly young women with promises of work-study opportunities in manufacturing, hospitality, and catering. However, the reality is that many women/people are placed into manual labour drone assembly factories, primarily from African, Asian, and Latin American countries.
The Dark Truth Behind RSA Influencers and Russia’s Start Programme
Lately, many South African influencers are promoting and have promoted Russia’s Alabuga Start Programme. This programme is supposed to be an opportunity for young women to gain professional skills abroad. Note on the surface, the program promised free travel, housing, and career development. However, recent journalistic investigations cast a shadow over these glossy promotions that has revealed troubling allegations.
Note according to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre:
“Around 200 women from Africa were employed in a factory in Tatarstan’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone, working alongside Russian vocational students (some as young as 15), in the weapons factory. The women often did not realise they would be making weapons until after arrival; during recruitment they were told that they would be joining a work-study program in fields such as hospitality”.
Concerns Raised:
- Influencers like Cyan Boujee and Seemah promoted the program as a great employment opportunity for young woman to work in the hospitality industry in Russia, only for African women to end up working in Russian factories assembling military drones allegedly.
- Many people ended up working under exploitative conditions: which included long hours, withheld passports, surveillance, and misleading job descriptions.
- South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has launched an investigation and issued a warning that such schemes may be linked to human trafficking.
The Other Side:
However, several influencers who actively promoted the Alabuga Start Programme across their social media platforms are now claiming they were misled. Many maintain that they genuinely believed they were promoting legitimate job opportunities primarily in the hospitality sector and were unaware of the programme’s alleged exploitative labour practices and the human trafficking-like characteristics embedded in its operations. One such influencer, Seemah, issued a public apology, stating that she had been deceived by the programme’s organisers regarding the nature of the work involved. She expressed deep regret and confusion over her role in amplifying the initiative.
Some observers have noted that the programme may have originally included genuine educational or vocational components. However, due to poor oversight, mismanagement, or deliberate misrepresentation, its reputation has been severely damaged raising serious concerns about transparency, ethics, and the protection of vulnerable participants.
While the Alabuga Start Programme may have been presented as a pathway to opportunity, its recruitment patterns raise serious concerns. By targeting young, economically vulnerable individuals often aged 18 to 22. The programme appears to exploit desperate people under the guise of career advancement. For many, the promise of housing and stable work was enough to overlook potential risks. Whether through mismanagement or deliberate misrepresentation, the programme has left both participants and promoters grappling with the consequences of a scheme now under investigation for exhibiting characteristics of human trafficking in its recruitment practices and operational structure.
REFERENCE LIST
Videos Offering Insight:
- Dirco investigates alleged Russian job schemes aimed at South African women
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnXrh4meaOU
- Growing concerns of alleged Russian fake job offers promoted by South African influencers
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoaGbdqMkXg
- The African influencers amplifying Kremlin propaganda – The Guardian
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5c2vFzg0dM
- Start Program Recruiters are Alleged Nthabiseng’s Boyfriend
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBXoVFp-lxQ
- Alabuga Start Program being investigated by Interpol – TikTok video by @zethugqola
- https://www.tiktok.com/@zethugqola/video/7542024990791585042
- Human Trafficking or Opportunity? The Alabuga Start Programme under fire! Anele and the club on YouTube:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Ufb3kyy-o
Reputable News Articles:
- MSN – Human trafficking fears rise after Cyan Boujee and more South African influencers promote Russia’s Alabuga Start programme
- https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/human-trafficking-fears-rise-after-cyan-boujee-and-more-south-african-influencers-promote-russias-alabuga-start-programme/ar-AA1L9Sy6
- Eyewitness News – Calls mount for probes into SA influencers punting Russian jobs programme amid concerns of human trafficking
- https://www.ewn.co.za/2025/08/25/calls-mount-for-probes-into-sa-influencers-punting-russian-jobs-programme-amid-concerns-of-human-trafficking
- Business & Human Rights Resource Centre: Russia: Women from Africa recruited via ‘Alabuga Start’ programme on social media to work in weapons factories; incl. cos responses & non-responses
- https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/russia-women-from-africa-recruited-via-alabuga-start-programme-on-social-media-to-work-in-weapons-factories-incl-cos-responses-non-responses/
Author: Shalati Sithole (ACT Africa – Policy Planning Advisor and Compliances)
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